A sense of pride by the populace to be part of the Roman culture grew steadily, to be a citizen of Rome was to be a citizen of the world. Movement across the great Empire was as rapid as when Queen Victoria came to the throne, no obstruction of frontiers, laws, currency, or nationalism hindered it. There is a monument in Norwich erected to his wife by a Syrian resident in Britain. Constantius Chlorus died in York. During the third century Mithraism was a powerful rival to Christianity, and, as was revealed by the impressive temple discovered at Walbrook in 1954, there must have been many believers in Roman London. The violent changes at the summit of the Empire did not effect so much as might be supposed the ordinary life of its population. Here and there were wars and risings. Rival emporers suppressed each other, legions mutinied, usurpers established themselves in the provinces affected by the occasions.

The British took a keen interest in the politics of the Roman world and formed strong views upon the changes in the Imperial power or upon the morale of the capital. Many thrusting spirits shot forward in Britain to play a part in the deadly game of Imperial politics, with its unparalleled prizes and fatal forfeits. But all were reconciled to the Roman idea. They had their laws; they had their life under the Roman protection,which flowed on broad, if momentarily disturbed, in the main unaltered.A poll in the fourth century would have declared for an indefinate continuance of the Roman regime.

The gift which Roman civilisation had to bestow was civic and political. Towns were planned in chess-board fashion, building rose in accordance with the pattern standardised throughout the Roman world. Each was completed with its forum, temples, courts of justice, gaols, baths, markets, and main drains. During the first century the builders evidently took a sanguine veiw of the resources and future of Britannia, and all their towns were projected to meet an ever increasing population. It was a period of hope.

Experts today estimated that the population of Roman Britain were between half a million and one million and a half. It seems certain that the army, the civil services, the towns folk, the well-to-do, and their relatives amounted to three or four hundred thousand.Having said that the population of Roman Britain as far as can be assumed was between 3 and 4 hundred thousand. To grow food for these, under the agricultural methods, would have required on the land perhaps double their number. We may therefore assume a population of at least a million in the Romanised area.

There may well have been more but there are no signs of any large increase of population accompanied the Roman system. In more than two centuries of peace and order the inhabitants remained at about the same numbers as in the days of Cassivellaunus. This falure to foster and support a more numerous life spread disappoinment and contraction throughout Roman Britain. The conquerers who so easily subdued and rallied the Britons to their method of social life brought with them no means, apart from stopping tribal war, of increasing the annual income derived from the productvity of the soil.

The new society, with all its grace of structure, with its spice of elegance and luxury --baths,banquets,togas,schools,literature and oritory-- stood on no more sumptious foundation than the agriculture of prehistoric times.The rude plenty in which the ancient Britons had dwelt was capable of supporting only to a moderate extent the imposing facade of Roman life.The cultivated ground was still for the most part confined to the lighter and more easily cultivated uplands soils, which had for thousands of years been worked ina primitive fashion.

A powerful Gallic plough on wheels was known in Britain, but did not supplant the native implememt, which could only nose along inshallow furrows. With a few exceptions, there was no large-sale attempt to clear the forests,drain the marshes, and cultivate the heavy soils of the valleys, in which so much fertility had been deposited. The idea of supplying the organic material to the soil was not understood, most was done by the grazing of meadows by the creatures that occupied them.

Such mining of lead and tin, such smelting,as had existed from times immemorial may have gained something from orderly administration; but there were no new sciences, no new thrust of power and knowledge in the material sphere. Thus the econonomic basis remained constant, and Britain became more genteel than more wealthy. The life of Britain continued upon a small scale,and in the main was stationary. The new ediface, so stately and admirable, was light and frail.

Caesar and Britain No 8 |  Caesar and Britian No 6

Index Page